Men's Water Polo: Tigers travel South for key games

When No. 14 Navy lost to the Princeton men’s water polo team in the final game of last year’s Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship, Navy head coach Mike Schofield told the school's athletics website that it was the “most disappointing game in my 25-year coaching career. I am not sure I am still over it.” That win sent the Tigers to a berth in the NCAA tournament and gave them their first Eastern title, a fairy tale finish to last season.

The No. 17 Tigers (5-3) will meet up with Navy on Saturday for the first of their many meetings this season. Despite the emotional aspect of playing the team's biggest rival, head coach Luis Nicolao said he is not worried about his squad’s ability to pull out the win.

“I don’t know why [Schofield] is so hung up on that game,” he said with a laugh. “The year before that, we lost to them in the Eastern final, so we know how it feels to lose the tough game.”

The Tigers will face Navy (13-4) after a Saturday morning match against Johns Hopkins (6-5). On Sunday, they will also play George Washington (4-8). The weekend will likely be trying for the young Tigers, but Nicolao said he believes his squad simply needs to focus on one game at a time.

“Playing multiple games in one weekend is something that the guys are used to at this point in our sport, and over the years, the guys learn to put games behind them," Nicolao said. "We’re going to focus on JHU and win that game, and then prepare for Navy.”

Last year, Princeton won both of its meetings against then-No. 20 Johns Hopkins, defeating the Blue Jays 11-5 at DeNunzio Pool and 15-8 in Baltimore. The Blue Jays finished third in the ECAC last year behind Navy and Princeton. Johns Hopkins is also a young team that graduated seven seniors last year, including Kyle Gertridge, a two-time All-American who lead the Blue Jays in goals, assists and points.

Still, Blue Jays goalie Jeremy Selbst, who already has 101 saves this year, will look to lead the team. The Blue Jays also added eight freshmen to their roster, and utility Ross Schofield and driver Alex Whittam, who lead the team with 20 goals and 32 points, respectively, are having breakout seasons.

As always, Navy will pose a strong challenge to the Tigers. The Midshipmen won two of their three meetings with Princeton last year, but they will look to avenge their most bitter loss. They have started strong this year, winning every game at their opening tournament, with their lowest scoring game featuring 11 Navy goals. Attackers Luke Baldwin and Conor Handley lead the team in goals this season with 25 and 29, respectively. Baldwin has scored 69 goals in his career and was named an All-American after scoring 51 points as a junior.

The Tigers will have to look to counter the Navy's strong offensive effort with one of their own. The Midshipmen's goalie, Anthony Gutierrez, is a replacement for their two-year starter Brett Rajchel, who graduated last year. While the Tigers will look to sophomore attack Tim Wenzlau to continue his strong season, Nicolao said he knows the benefits of spreading out his offense.

“We’re looking to get a better balance in scoring and continuing to get more guys involved," he said. "It will be better [for] us not to look to one guy, because it is easy to take one guy out of the game.”

The final game of the weekend will come against the Colonials, whom the Tigers defeated handily in 15-7 and 12-9 wins last year. The squad lost four seniors and has dwindled to a small, 13-player side that only includes one upperclassman. However, one of George Washington's six freshmen — new standout utility Daniel Tyner — has racked up 28 of the Colonials’ 82 goals this season, more than double any other player. Still, it will likely be another offensively minded game for the Tigers, as starting Colonial goalie Cameron Illes has allowed 8.86 goals per game this season.